Mapping Wyoming's Food System

The goal of this project is to use spatial and economic analysis of Wyoming’s agri-food supply chains to identify areas for intervention and growth. Wyoming’s food system is shaped by its large geographic size and strong agricultural heritage. In turn, the state’s producers, processors, distributors, retailers, and institutional buyers operate across long distances, creating both challenges and opportunities for strengthening local and regional food markets. Meanwhile, interest in local food, value-added agriculture, and regional economic development is growing across the state. As a result, communities, businesses, and policymakers are increasingly exploring ways to improve coordination, expand market access, and invest in food system infrastructure that supports both rural livelihoods and community food access.

 

As these efforts move forward, there is a growing need for an integrated, spatial understanding of how Wyoming’s food system is organized. This includes where different types of agricultural production occur, where processing and aggregation capacity exists, how food is transported across regions, and where consumer and institutional demand is concentrated. A comprehensive mapping of these elements can help identify promising regions for infrastructure investment, regional aggregation hubs, shared distribution routes, and institutional procurement initiatives.

 

This project will therefore focus on developing a statewide, spatially explicit map of Wyoming’s food system by integrating data on agricultural producers, processors, aggregation and storage facilities, transport corridors, retailers, and institutional buyers. The mapping effort will draw on publicly available datasets from USDA, the Census of Agriculture, and state agencies, as well as information from UW Extension, producer organizations, and local food initiatives. Where appropriate, stakeholder interviews or short surveys will be used to validate locations and add detail on key midstream actors.

 

Additional analysis will include impact assessments and applied econometric techniques that will result in both academic and non-technical research outputs. Students who are part of this project will participate in the data collection, outreach, analysis, and writing phases. While doing so, they will receive one-on-one advising, have opportunities to engage with Extension programming, and gain experience in applied economic and impact analyses.